Leave The Great Gatsby

Do you ever wonder what the literary canon is? What is The Great Gatsby? The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925, shouldn’t stay in the canon. The literary canon is a list of books which are important, teach us a moral, provoke emotions, and is quality work. I think this is because as criteria for the canon, it doesn’t give us a moral at the end. This book is narrated by Nick Carraway, who tells us the story of being Gatsby’s neighbor, and of the love between Gatsby and his cousin Daisy. The book doesn’t give us pleasure when reading it, it just makes us mad and question certain things that happen. Lastly, it’s written by a white male, so I feel like it’s difficult to connect with the characters.

To tell the truth, the book doesn’t give any moral at the end. After reading this book I didn’t find any educational purpose in it. In the canon there are books that are educational and  have a strong moral to teach high school students. This book is required to read junior year, but I don’t understand why because it doesn’t teach us anything, or distinguish right from wrong. The book only talks about conflicting problems, such as Gatsby’s and Daisy’s love triangle, but never comes to a conclusion. For example, when Daisy is put on the spot to say what she feel, she responds with “I did love him once-but I loved you too”, she couldn't decide whether to stay with Gatsby or Tom (Fitzgerald 118).

Another issue is that besides it doesn’t have a moral, the novel doesn’t fulfill one of the criteria of being in the canon, which is to give readers pleasure and enjoyment. This book don’t give us that. It gives us the opposite, in my opinion. It made us question why a character thinked like that, why that character took that decision and in some situations it felt like the characters didn’t have common sense. Instead of enjoying the book, most of the time we were mad because we couldn’t believe what we were reading. For example, when Daisy first mentioned her daughter, she “woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept” (Fitzgerald 30). Daisy’s reaction to the news of her child was shocking to the readers because what mother would reject their baby. This is an example of the opposite of enjoyment and it’s a turnoff for the reader. After that moment she doesn't  mention her daughter that much in the book or spend time with her.

Lastly, a problem in the canon is that there are mostly white male authors and very few female authors or people of color. There isn’t a enough diversity in the canon. It seems like there is just one opinion in the matter of Nick Carraway's life story and there must be a different point of view. The lack of diversity and time period make it more difficult for some people to connect with these all-white, wealthy characters. The novel was set and written during the early 20th century in America, and it isn’t necessary for students to know about the dark times of that period, especially in a work of fiction. As “The New York Times remarked, gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession” (Fitzgerald inside flap).

In conclusion, I think The Great Gatsby shouldn’t stay in the canon. The story doesn’t have a moral at the end, no lesson to learn, and doesn’t distinguish right from wrong. Fitzgerald’s novel doesn’t give the reader pleasure and enjoyment. Furthermore, the book is narrated by Nick Carraway, so it only has one perspective and hides what other characters are feeling. For these reasons, I think The Great Gatsby shouldn't stay in the canon.

http://www.vulture.com/2013/05/schulz-on-the-great-gatsby.html